Course Description
Survey of the intellectual and cultural history of America from
its colonial origins to 1865.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be assigned extensive additional
readings in the current research in the field and will meet
weekly with the instructor outside of class for a discussion
session. They will be required to write extra papers
demonstrating their research and interpretive skills, as
appropriate at the graduate level.
Athena Title
American Intellect to 1865
Prerequisite
Junior student standing
Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite
HIST 2111 or HIST 2111E or 2111H or HIST 2112 or HIST 2112E or HIST 2112H
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
- By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about U.S. intellectual history to 1865 by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how American intellectual and cultural history of the Civil War shaped diverse social and cultural attitudes toward race and slavery, labor and class, and religion and entertainment, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to generate their own research question or topic, locate suitable primary and secondary sources, and synthesize their ideas in novel ways.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to initiate, manage, complete, and evaluate their independent research projects in stages and to give and receive constructive feedback through the peer review process.
Topical Outline
- 1. Native American Cultures and Encounters
- 2. British Colonization and Puritanism
- 3. African Diaspora and African-American Culture
- 4. Colonial Religion: Revivals, Awakenings, Apparitions
- 5. Material Culture, Fine Art, and Everyday Life
- 6. American Revolution: Ideas and Consequences
- 7. Making of the Constitution
- 8. Creating an American Culture in the Early Republic
- 9. Religion in the Early Republic
- 10. Slavery and Anti-slavery
- 11. Reform Movements and Utopian Communities in the Antebellum Era
- 12. Popular Culture and Entertainment in the Antebellum Era
- 13. Transcendentalism and the American Renaissance
- 14. The Civil War
Institutional Competencies
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Communication
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
